The objectives of this joint meeting of the International Leukocyte Culture Conference and the Reticuloendothelial Society are to provide 1) a forum to present current research on the cells involved in host defense systems and their modulation in normal and neoplastic states and 2) an opportunity for biomedical scientists of diverse backgrounds to xchange information on more narrowly defined related topics. Symposia on major themes will include inviteds speakers contributing significantly to current areas of research in addition to investigators who will be selected on the basis of submitted abstracts. Poster session workshops on related topics will enable more participants to discuss in small groups their recent research in detail. This approach is intended to attract investigators concerned wth the basic mechanisms and clinical problems of host defenses who are currently working in such diverse disciplines as immunology, pathology, pharmacology, cell biology, oncology, infectious diseases and neuroendocrinology. The rationale for such an approach is the appreciation that host defense systems are complex biological systems and require a multidisciplinary approach for full understanding. Thus, two symposia consider the role of macrophages, NK cells, granulocytes and platelets and the mechanisms of their activation. Parallel workshops will consider in detail some mechanisms of their activation by immunocompetent cells, lymphokines, bacterial products and synthetic biological response modifiers. In two additional symposia, development and differentiation and changes during oncogenesis of immunocompetent cells will be discussed, with workshops and discussions providing opportunities for in-depth discussions of the control mechanisms involved. A fifth symposium will introduce a new topic of potentially broad clinical significance: neuroendocrine-immune interactions. This is a provocative but interesting area for discussion. The format will promote fruitful discussion between investigators with different disciplines and expertise in order to promote an understanding of the role of inflammation and the immune response of infectious diseases and malignancy, and the control of the host defenses by the neuroendocrine system.
